By Yajati Rout

Copyright pragativadi

The visit highlighted the remarkable transformation of women farmers who have embraced innovative agricultural practices under the APC initiative, earning praise for their sustainable and profitable model.

The Maa Kalijai Producer Group (PG), comprising 110 women farmers, has cultivated bitter gourd across 70 acres using advanced techniques such as low-cost single-line trellis, saplings from soilless nursery entrepreneurs, mulching, and solar-powered borewells with drip irrigation. Supported by a Farmer Producer Company (FPC) established under the APC project, the farmers have secured robust input and output market linkages, enabling direct sales of their produce to markets in Cuttack, Jajpur, and Bhadrak.

Before the APC project, the women farmers earned a modest Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 10,000 annually from vegetable cultivation. Today, most members of the producer group report annual earnings exceeding Rs. 1 lakh, a testament to the cluster’s success in adopting modern farming practices and efficient market access. The World Bank team, visibly impressed, commended the group’s achievements and urged other APC clusters to adopt this low-input, high-output model.

The success of Maa Kalijai APC underscores the potential of collective farming and technological innovation to uplift rural economies and empower women in agriculture. As Odisha continues to champion such initiatives, the Maa Kalijai model stands as an inspiring example for sustainable agricultural development across the region.